Renter assumptions?

[fastforward]

If you live where there is an HOA, do you automatically assume that renters are not going to take care of the property?  Would too many renters cause you to move?  

 

Yesterday, my neighbor told me that the reason why many houses are going up for sale is because of renters moving in.  He made it crystal clear that so many renters are potentially bringing down the home values.  The neighborhood is quiet, and overall the houses are nicely maintained, seemingly keeping up with what's standard for the area.  Well, we just moved in and we are renters, so the neighbor's comment was hard to not take personally.  We owned our home in our previous state for 15 years, so we understand how to take care of a home, and we take care of this one just as we took care of our old house.  But yes, that stung, even though the neighbor said over and over, "I don't necessarily mean you, but..."

 

I cannot help but think that we will not be here long now, knowing that our presence is likely only tolerated and we are not welcome simply because we do not own this home.  After a stressful move, let's just say that moving again so soon wasn't really in the plans.  It's so funny because where we came from, other homeowners were the ones who didn't take care of their homes due to financial hardships or having excessive family members living in small spaces, and renters didn't factor in to the equation at all.

[FriedClams]

One man. One opinion. I'd do my best to let it go.

 

Live your life. Rest from your move. Take care of the house like you always have/would (and I know where you're coming from - we moved last month into a rental after owning for 15 years whole one house sells and we build another). Don't let one person dictate your actions or emotion (though again,I hear you, thismoving thing is hard!).

[Bootsie]

I do not know why this would be related to there being a HOA.  I think much of the reason would depend upon why there are so many renters.  The concern could be that there are many short-term renters, leading to a lot of turnover in the student population at the local school.  The concern could be that it is an area in which many renters are college students.  Or, the concern could be that the property owners are not as concerned about the property (and long term maintenance issues or community issues) because they are not living there.  

[fastforward]

I do not know why this would be related to there being a HOA.  I think much of the reason would depend upon why there are so many renters.  The concern could be that there are many short-term renters, leading to a lot of turnover in the student population at the local school.  The concern could be that it is an area in which many renters are college students.  Or, the concern could be that the property owners are not as concerned about the property (and long term maintenance issues or community issues) because they are not living there.  

The neighbor specifically mentioned the HOA being concerned about the amount of renters and their desire to keep the number under a certain percentage.  Also, I have heard about this being an issue where there is an HOA, but never really heard this type of concern when I lived in a regular old neighborhood.  There was general concern about the amount of apartment building being built versus single family homes because of school crowding and lack of infrastructure, but not about renters of single family homes.

[fastforward]

One man. One opinion. I'd do my best to let it go.

 

Live your life. Rest from your move. Take care of the house like you always have/would (and I know where you're coming from - we moved last month into a rental after owning for 15 years whole one house sells and we build another). Don't let one person dictate your actions or emotion (though again,I hear you, thismoving thing is hard!).

Resting is hard.  I am so stressed out and beginning to think this was all a huge, costly mistake.  Our old home and neighborhood had so many issues which contributed to why we moved, but it was *ours*, if that makes sense.  

Edited December 26, 2016 by fastforward

[mom2att]

I think that too many rental properties has the potential to bring down property values, but only if the renters and/or landlords in the area do a poor job of maintaining the property.

 

We've always rented. We've lived in the house we live in now for 14 years. We may not be the owners, but it is very much our home. I don't think most people even know that we rent.

 

Take a deep breath and enjoy your new dwelling. Treat it like it's your home, because it is. Prove your new neighbor wrong, at least in your case.

Edited December 26, 2016 by mom2att

[Heathermomster]

The rental homes in my neighborhood look horrible and are not being maintained, but the home maintenance on rental property is the the responsibility of the owner.  Thanks to our wonderful blooming economy, homes aren't selling and owners want to move on so they lease their properties.  My family doesn't sneer when we see renters move in, but we have an overwhelming feeling of trepidation until we see yards picked up and the family dog not roaming.     

Edited December 26, 2016 by Heathermomster

[Pawz4me]

We moved in the spring. It was part of our long term plan (we knew when we bought our previous house it wouldn't be the home DH and I would retire in). So we moved for other reasons. But I will say that we were concerned about the number of houses being rented in our neighborhood. It was an HOA neighborhood, but that really had nothing to do with it. We were concerned about homes not being maintained properly. It was already happening in some of the rental homes and we were afraid it would happen in more and have an adverse effect on our home's value. But we were also concerned about having a number of relatively close neighbors who weren't permanent residents leading to lack of stability in the neighborhood. I know some renters do stay long term, but many don't. Our experience has been that neighbors who know each other at least a little are more likely to watch out for each other. Even the "speaking over the fence" type relationships are hard to develop when people are moving in/out every six months. So I think your neighbor has a very valid point. But in your shoes I wouldn't be overly concerned about it. Take care of your home like you plan to do. Once people see you doing that instead of worrying they'll likely be hoping you stay for a long, long time!

[Guest]

the home maintenance on rental property is the the responsibility of the owner.

Can not be stressed enough.

 

Op your neighbor is a Twit. Sorry about your luck.

 

Even if he and others DID want you out, too bad, so sad. If they are willing to even entertain the notion of being hostile towards people who rent just because they rent, they are garbage people.

[poppy]

A high percentage of rental properties can bring property value down...... sometimes, especially if there are lots of multifamily units and few owner occupied homes.   It's not anything against tenants.  It's on the landlords. But it is out of neighbor's control.

 

Can't imagine what kind of jackass would think this was a good thing to make "crystal clear" to a new family moving in.  It's like the lady who says "SPEAK ENGLISH YOU'RE IN AMERICA" randomly at people in the store. Just flat out rude.

[bettyandbob]

There are renter's who help maintain a home. Basic maintenance can be written into a lease and enforced. However, if there was a no follow through, if it's not on the lease, if renter's don't do it on their own, if the landlord doesn't do it or check up, it's a problem. Lack of maintenance on rental property is a problem and does bring down neighborhood values.

 

That said, I know individual renters who have been awesome both in care of the home and in being part of the neighborhood. There's a house in my neighborhood that had the same renters for twenty years. It was beautifully maintained. It's passed through a couple more renters in the last three years. That house doesn't look great anymore.

 

Good renters don't need to be family or planning to stay either. We have a house occupied by four twenty something men. The house looks fine. No big parties. And when we had a big snow, they stayed out all day with our neighborhood shoveling until every house could get a car from parking space to street.

 

OP, your neighbor is tactless. I don't make a judgement until I see.

[bethben]

In our HOA, if the renters don't keep up to the HOA standards, the owner gets a letter saying as such. We have a hyper HOA and they didn't feel that the renters across the street had done enough to maintain the yard. So the owner got on their case and it was resolved. We have a lot of renters around us and you would never know. I don't think it affects home values but the only thing it affects is the long term owners don't get the same sense of long term community. That does bug me a bit.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[City Mouse]

I agree that it has the potential to lower home values, or that home values have lowered already and that is why homes are available for renters.

once a home is rented, often it seems like it is not kept up to the same standards, but that is not necessarily due to the individual renters. It seems to me that the owner/landlord tends to not put as much money or time into keeping up the house. It will meet minimum standards as required by the HOA, but the extras are not there. When house after house is a rental, it can become obvious just from looking at the landscaping.

[Sandragood1]

I have a vague memory from looking at town homes and condos in 1991 ish that if the percent of owner-occupied units is below a certain number home insurance rates go up.

 

Your neighbor may be concerned about that. I still think it's not something that individual renters can do anything about.

[EmilyGF]

I have a vague memory from looking at town homes and condos in 1991 ish that if the percent of owner-occupied units is below a certain number home insurance rates go up.

 

Your neighbor may be concerned about that. I still think it's not something that individual renters can do anything about.

With certain types of condo associations, it can be harder to get a loan if a certain percentage of the condos are rented out.

 

FWIW, we lived in a condo where there was great animosity between the owners and renters. The renters were generally short term and kept things just good enough not to get fined. I think the owners missed the community they had had when most people had lived there long term.

 

People all liked us personally because we were friendly and spent a lot of time walking around. They didn't like the other renters - we were OK. ;-P

 

Emily

[Amira]

The neighbor should be talking to the home owners, not the renters. If home values are dropping or if the HOA is annoyed because of the number of renters in the neighborhood, it's really not the renters' fault.

 

Enjoy your new home for as long as you need to stay there. Renters are as much a part of a community as anyone else. We've nearly always rented or lived in temporary housing and it can be a great option in spite of the drawbacks.

[EmseB]

We are military and have rented various homes over the years.

 

Because we live in military towns and in neighborhoods with a lot of military/govvie/transient types there are always a fair number of renters.

 

Your neighbor was being a jerk and not at all logical.  Sure, renters can be bad.  But you can also have owners that don't do a good job of maintaining their property and they live there long-term.  We take better care of our rented yard than our neighbors down the street who own their house.

[Kari C in SC]

We own 8 rental properties - 7 of them in in HOA neighborhoods. All of my tenants must adhere to the basic HOA rules just like anyone else. If we get a letter from the HOA, we contact the tenant. If the tenant chose not to fix the problem, they would we charged a fee from their security deposit and ultimately evicted. We have NEVER had that problem with any of our tenants. Generally, it is a simple fix and they take care of it quickly. 3 of our rentals are in the neighborhood we live in. Of those - 2 houses have a better looking yard than our OWN! It really depends on the tenant and how they feel about landscaping, etc. as landlords, we do pressure wash and make repairs as needed. We also do major tree trimming. The rest is up to our tenants and I honestly don't see a negative side from our tenants over the actual owner occupants in this neighborhood.

[Cinder]

We have several rentals on our street and TBH they're better maintained than some of the owner homes in our HOA subdivision. The main cause of decreased property values for us has been the housing bubble bursting--this subdivision was built just before/at the peak of the bubble--not rentals.

[6packofun]

In general, I do think rentals can look dumpier than other homes.  I say this as someone who has rented my whole life.  Currently, I don't think our property is kept up well and it's in our lease that the LANDLORD does the lawn maintenance and snow removal!  He just does it very rarely.  And honestly, if he says it's on him, I'm not going to do his job for him all the time, although I have weeded around the flowers out front because he hires some kids to plant them and then never weeds.  Like, NEVER.  He mows or has someone do it but then doesn't do any trimming with a weed whacker.  Argh.

 

Anyway, I really think it's impossible to know for sure.  Renters are all different and sometimes feeling part of a community/neighborhood helps them feel more at HOME (and thus be more motivated to take care of the yard, etc.) and sometimes it doesn't.  Sometimes landlords take care of their properties and sometimes they don't bother checking until someone moves out.

[dirty ethel rackham]

I'd ignore this guy.  How rude.  While a high percentage of renters can change the feel of a neighborhood (not necessarily maintenance, but the lack of permanence can change the social feel of a neighborhood), it is not a given. 

 

During the housing boom of the early 2000s, our neighborhood was targeted as a desirable tear-down location so developers were buying up homes and outbidding families who wanted to live here.  These developers rented out the homes that they were not ready to tear down.  Those leases were fairly short-term so those tenants did not have much invested in the neighborhood.  Then, the market for high-end homes cooled down and those developers were not putting much care into those houses that they had planned to tear down.  Many of them went belly up due to the fact that they were over-extended.  We ended up with several flop houses - young single tenants treating these places like party palaces.  Now, we are seeing many more permanent residents - young families are finally moving back in.  Those that are renting are staying longer.  In fact, these days, I don't know who are renters and who have bough the homes. 

 

I think it all depends on the landlord. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

No clue, but I hate those comments.  I lived in rentals for the majority of my life (we own now).  In my experiences I'd blame the landlord for any lack of upkeep.  I don't mean whatever is agreed upon such as yard work or whatever, but if the roof or windows are falling apart, or the place needs to be painted, that's hardly the fault of the renters.  What might be in part bringing the value down is if landlords don't want to upkeep the place since they aren't living in it.  It might not be JUST renters being uncaring and messy.

 

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

There are renter's who help maintain a home. Basic maintenance can be written into a lease and enforced.

 

I'm curious as to what constitutes basic maintenance. 

[KungFuPanda]

He's a jackass, but he's also scared about his home investment. If the neighborhood is in decline, and home values are slipping, an increase in renters is a symptom, not a cause. It's not the renters' faults that this neighborhood isn't enjoying a seller's market. Renters go where there are homes to rent. The "types of people" who rent run a very wide spectrum. A high concentration of renters in a single family neighborhood tells a story about the local economy but not so much about the individuals who are renting houses.

[Mergath]

No clue, but I hate those comments.  I lived in rentals for the majority of my life (we own now).  In my experiences I'd blame the landlord for any lack of upkeep.  I don't mean whatever is agreed upon such as yard work or whatever, but if the roof or windows are falling apart, or the place needs to be painted, that's hardly the fault of the renters.  What might be in part bringing the value down is if landlords don't want to upkeep the place since they aren't living in it.  It might not be JUST renters being uncaring and messy.

 

:iagree: The last place we rented was awful. The landlord was responsible for all outside maintenance, lawn care, snow removal, etc. The exterior looked awful. The roof was blowing off, the paint was peeling off, the front stairs were rotting, the brick flowerboxes along the sides of the house were crumbling, the window frames were rotting and falling off... I'm sure people blamed us and grumbled about the nasty renters, but honestly, what were we supposed to do? Pay ourselves for new siding? Buy a new roof? The whole point of renting is that you're not financially responsible for that stuff. And in our case the landlord's house was fifty feet away and the guy owns a construction company. I'm not even kidding. And he still couldn't get off his butt to do a thing to repair the house. I love the place we're in now, thankfully.

 

I honestly think some people are a bit jealous, too. I know several people who bought their houses during the peak of the housing bubble, and they paid so much more than their houses are worth now. They desperately want to move but they're stuck for the next twenty years unless they walk away and let the bank have it. I've gotten my share of snide comments about how nice it must be to be able to pick up and move whenever I want to. Yeah, it is nice. :P

[Bluegoat]

I've heard this sentiment before, but I think it's shallow.  In my experience, remters don't make values go up or down, unless there are other factors infuencing the situation.  I can go to some pretty trendy neighbourhoods and the rented properties look great - that is why they cost so much.  My own working class neighbourhood has a fair number of rentals - you can't tell by looking, they are as well kept as other properties, and are generaly long term rentals.

 

 

There are two situations, that can tend to go together though not always, that mean the places won't be as well cared for.

 

One is the landlord isn't willing to care for the property and sees it as a cash cow.

 

The other is that for some reason a lot of tenants can't or won't care for it properly and trash it. 

 

People who trash places may only be able to get accepted at crappy places, and also people are less likely to try and care for a place that the landlord doesn't maintain.  Some populations, like students, may also tend to result in less cared for properties.

 

As far as an area going downhill, I think that's only likely if the properties for some reason are being bought up as slums, probably at a low price so rents will be low.

 

 

[Bluegoat]

I'm curious as to what constitutes basic maintenance. 

 

It could vary, but around here most people renting a house would do things like mow, shovel, landscape stuff, possibly yearly things like caulking windows, furnace or water-heater maintenance, getting repairs on things like toilet or doing interior painting.

[Farrar]

Having a large number of rentals can bring the value of a neighborhood down - not just because of potential maintenance issues, but because it can change the character of the neighborhood and the investment in it generally. Like, I totally agree that the owners are ultimately responsible for the maintenance, but you have to admit that few owners are going to beautifully landscape and maintain an elaborate yard, for example - and renters are less likely to do this work as well. Or to spend time lobbying for neighborhood improvements or parks or the like - one doesn't live there, the other may be planning to stay for just a couple of years.

 

But that's hardly the fault of the renters. And it won't necessarily happen. It really depends on so many things. And so rude to try to passive aggressively bring it up like that. If part of the problem is renters feeling unwelcome and therefore not investing in the neighborhood (with time, friendliness, yard spiffiness, political advocacy, etc.), then that's not helping.

[Zinnia]

I hate that attitude, too.  I'm sorry.

 

We rent, and we have a landlord that doesn't care about maintenance at all.  Basic, extended, whatever.  The house is in a flood plain, and the county is slowly buying up the houses and demolishing them as funds become available.  I think our landlord is holding out for an offer.  That, and we think that he doesn't want to improve the house too much so his taxes don't go up very much.  I don't necessarily love this, but not much we can do.  

 

There are other houses in our neighborhood in similar shape, both rentals and owner occupied.  And houses that are much nicer, both rentals and owner occupied.  

 

That comment was ignorant.

[EmseB]

Having a large number of rentals can bring the value of a neighborhood down - not just because of potential maintenance issues, but because it can change the character of the neighborhood and the investment in it generally. Like, I totally agree that the owners are ultimately responsible for the maintenance, but you have to admit that few owners are going to beautifully landscape and maintain an elaborate yard, for example - and renters are less likely to do this work as well. Or to spend time lobbying for neighborhood improvements or parks or the like - one doesn't live there, the other may be planning to stay for just a couple of years.

 

But that's hardly the fault of the renters. And it won't necessarily happen. It really depends on so many things. And so rude to try to passive aggressively bring it up like that. If part of the problem is renters feeling unwelcome and therefore not investing in the neighborhood (with time, friendliness, yard spiffiness, political advocacy, etc.), then that's not helping.

 

I think this totally varies on the variety of renters one is getting in a neighborhood.

 

Like my previous example, being in neighborhoods full of military people, we generally advocate for that stuff too because we want it available even though our time is short.  We are perpetually moving to new neighborhoods, but still want amenities for our kids and the like. And there are certain home improvements I won't do because it's not my home so I don't get to make permanent changes (or want to), but we mulch every spring, plant some flowers, mow, etc.  I don't want to overstate things, but having lived among fellow renters for a long time part of it is just wanting the place to feel like "home" and so we make it nice for ourselves even though we know we're going to be leaving it behind.

 

So while I'm glad we don't have to worry about home value because we don't own the place, that's not the only motivator for keeping things up or working with the HOA.

[foxbridgeacademy]

I have no idea how the HOA would play into it but yes a high percentage of rentals in a neighborhood does bring property values down no matter how nice they keep the homes.  It's not usually the renters fault but the absentee owners (especially the big ones like I'm currently renting from- 1000's of homes in a dozen states) who don't take care of routine maintenance between tenants or even when a tenant calls and things are broke.

[lllll]

nm

Edited December 28, 2016 by ..Kathy..

[fastforward]

Having a large number of rentals can bring the value of a neighborhood down - not just because of potential maintenance issues, but because it can change the character of the neighborhood and the investment in it generally. Like, I totally agree that the owners are ultimately responsible for the maintenance, but you have to admit that few owners are going to beautifully landscape and maintain an elaborate yard, for example - and renters are less likely to do this work as well. Or to spend time lobbying for neighborhood improvements or parks or the like - one doesn't live there, the other may be planning to stay for just a couple of years.

 

But that's hardly the fault of the renters. And it won't necessarily happen. It really depends on so many things. And so rude to try to passive aggressively bring it up like that. If part of the problem is renters feeling unwelcome and therefore not investing in the neighborhood (with time, friendliness, yard spiffiness, political advocacy, etc.), then that's not helping.

The interesting thing is that I was at the neighbor's house delivering a small Christmas gift to him and his family in our attempts to be neighborly, so the comment seemed ill-timed and borderline rude.  

 

I can definitely see how large numbers of rentals that are neglected by the landlord can bring a neighborhood down.  My experience as a homeowner in our previous home (15 years, not a short amount of time) is of owner occupied homes having poorly maintained, unkempt properties.  

Edited December 27, 2016 by fastforward

[fastforward]

It could vary, but around here most people renting a house would do things like mow, shovel, landscape stuff, possibly yearly things like caulking windows, furnace or water-heater maintenance, getting repairs on things like toilet or doing interior painting.

 

Yard maintenance seems basic, but the other things seem a little over the top.  Wouldn't it be a liability to the landlord to have the tenant potentially doing inferior work?  Would a tenant in your area generally be responsible for paying for a technician to come out and handle those problems if they have no experience with fixing those things?

 

That said, we have already done some minor stuff like caulking in the bathroom, but furnace issues are a no-go for us.  My husband recently did some troubleshooting when our downstairs heat stopped working, but it was absolutely the landlord's job to fix it.  (And he did promptly.)  It ended up being a part that needed replacing, which my husband had no experience with handling.  He has plenty of experience with our boiler back in the northeast, and had a close relationship with our steam heating system, but this forced air system they use here in the south is a big old 'nope' to him as a renter.  If we owned, we'd obviously figure it out or hire someone.

[kiwik]

I am disappointed that nearly every house sold on our street in the past two years has had a To Rent sign put beside the Sold sign. The investors are driving prices up all over the city and it is becoming increasingly difficult for first home buyers.

[Lanny]

We have a HOA, but I do not believe your issue is related to having or not having an HOA.  When I lived in the USA, I was a Renter. Years ago, someone wrote a letter to the Dallas Morning News, about how Renters do not pay Property Taxes, etc.  In response, I wrote a letter to the Dallas Morning News, that they also published, explaining to him (and others with the same misconception) that part of the money Renters pay was for the owners to pay Property Taxes.

 

For sure, in the USA, and probably here in Colombia too, I would think that a neighborhood (or more properly, a block), with a large number of houses that are Rent houses, is seen as having lower Value than homes that are owner occupied.  Someone who sells Real Estate could explain why that is (IMO) true.

 

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

Exactly! 

 

Some landlords are nuts.  Once went to look at a house for rent (a very overpriced rent at that) and the guy had listed an extra room that turned out to be an unfinished basement (with concrete floors and walls.  He then said we would be free to finish it if we wanted the extra room.  I wanted to ask him what crack he had just smoked.  He wanted someone else to put money into renovating his investment?  Sure, I'd like that too! 

 

Mowing or shoveling is about the only thing on that list I'd consider 'basic'. 

 

~

 

Agreed with comments above - the person carrying on about renters was rude and ignorant, and most issues with how a rental property looks are to do with owners who refuse to put the time, energy or $ on upkeep. 

 

That's hardly the renters fault. 

 

Insecure tenacy causes problems as well. We've left so many gardens behind that we put time and money into, because a ll decided he or she wanted to knock down the property, sell the property, lease the property to their friend, move into their property blah blah.

 

This time we just don't have the heart ( or the cash) for it. We might be here for a decade, or the ll might decide to sell up next month. It's not worth it to us. I would LOVE to landscape, but when you have zero security, it's a luxury you can't engage in. 

 

Neighbours who get their knickers in a twist about it can go jump. The lawn gets mowed and that's it. Deal. If they dont like it, they can go lobby for better security for tenants.

 

After our last (involuntary, ll knocking house down) move, I can't even muster the energy to get to know neighbours. What's the point when you might have to move again in 18 months ? Again, not the renters fault. 

 

[SparklyUnicorn]

It could vary, but around here most people renting a house would do things like mow, shovel, landscape stuff, possibly yearly things like caulking windows, furnace or water-heater maintenance, getting repairs on things like toilet or doing interior painting.

 

Furnace.  Ah yes I once did live in a rental that required yearly maintenance on the furnace.  Let me tell you what happened when we went and had that done.  The company who came to do it said it was obvious it had not been done since probably forever (and the furnace was quite old).  We got a reasonable price on it (to the dismay of the company) because we had a coupon.  They decided to honor the coupon since we bought our oil from them, but they said normally they'd have to charge quite a bit more because of the amount of time and effort put into it.  Lucky us.  Except the furnace then stopped running a week later and the landlord insisted they must have broken it.  She wanted me to call them to have them come out and fix it.  I said no way because if I initiate the call I could be on the hook for the fee and there is no way I'm paying for your 30 year old poorly maintained furnace.  NEVER again will I agree to such a provision in a lease.  If a landlord is going to require that they should leave the stuff in decent shape and not expect a tenant to come in and fix a piece of crap furnace. 

 

I've never heard of caulking windows.  But I can tell you about a delightful experience with a tenant above us having the brilliant idea to recaulk the shower.  He didn't know what he was doing and all the water leaked down through the floor into our ceiling and that in turn busted a huge hole in the ceiling that was so large he could see into our apartment and we could see into his.  We waited about 2 months before the landlord did anything.

 

Mowing and shoveling...fair enough.  Fancy landscaping?  Probably not because that is quite costly and you might turn around and tell me I need to move out in a few months. 

 

Never heard of water heaters needing any maintenance.  But then maybe there are some types out there I don't know about.  But then that leads to my last point that if a person has never been a home owner they might actually not know about a lot of this stuff.  We surely did not ourselves.  I don't know if it is the best idea for landlords to trust people they don't know to take care of important parts of their investment. 

[Sherry in OH]

One of the issues in an HOA neighborhood is that tenants are (by design) less invested in the community.   Only homeowners can vote on HOA initiatives.  Getting a quorum is difficult.  It is even more difficult when many homes are not owner occupied. 

[Bambam]

In our last two HOAs, it has been against your deed restrictions to rent your home. 

 

In our last HOA, one of the builders (custom builders purchased lots and then built a spec home to sell) did rent one home. There was fury. And it did not work out well. Renter was aware of all the deed restrictions. We were relocating, so I'm not sure how that all worked out. Neither am I sure what the HOA can do about that. 

 

But, in general, I would agree that people who own things take better care of them than those who are just leasing/renting. Hey, I'm harder on rental cars than I am my own car. Nothing rides like rental!

[fastforward]

In our last two HOAs, it has been against your deed restrictions to rent your home. 

 

In our last HOA, one of the builders (custom builders purchased lots and then built a spec home to sell) did rent one home. There was fury. And it did not work out well. Renter was aware of all the deed restrictions. We were relocating, so I'm not sure how that all worked out. Neither am I sure what the HOA can do about that. 

 

But, in general, I would agree that people who own things take better care of them than those who are just leasing/renting. Hey, I'm harder on rental cars than I am my own car. Nothing rides like rental!

 

I strongly disagree.  When I own something, I know that I can use it more judiciously, so I am far more harsh in my treatment.  I know I could never lease a car because of how hard I am on them.  Every time I've rented a car, I'm a nervous wreck and treat it with way more care than my own.  Now, when we were back in our old state in our owned home, we didn't run it into the ground, but I knew that there were repairs we could put off if money was tight or we would rather spend on something else.  In my current rental home, I am super careful with everything and we are probably annoying the landlord by letting him know ASAP when things go wrong.  I would never dream of disrespecting his home just because I don't own it.

 

I'm starting to believe the renter stereotype is more based in classism.  Owners=perceived more $$$, so better, nicer property, always takes care of things properly.  Renters=perceived to be poorer, so therefore lower class, not able to keep up their property, don't take care of things, etc.  

[Alicia64]

We rent in a beautiful neighborhood from a doctor who'd been a favorite in our cul-de-sac for ten years. I could tell -- when we moved in -- that the neighbors were nervous. (We owned for a decade in our former state too.)

 

The "bad renter" story has been passed on through decades. One or two bad experiences gets tons of attention -- while good renter stories don't get traction. (Not to mention the fact that some landlords are so new to the gig that they don't understand their responsibilities versus the tenant's. So they badmouth the tenant not knowing that they're really in the wrong.)

 

I honestly wouldn't take it personally. Was he really rude to bring that up in front of you? Heck yeah! The dolt. But just do a beautiful job keeping the house up and you'll show the neighborhood that you're "good people."

 

We've been in our cul-de-sac two years now and you can almost hear the sigh of relief coming from our neighbors. :lol:  We get baked gifts and cards at Xmas. One neighbor even brought over Halloween candy for the boys saying, "I won't be home on Halloween, but I wanted to let your boys know that we didn't forget them."

 

Alley

[Mergath]

I strongly disagree.  When I own something, I know that I can use it more judiciously, so I am far more harsh in my treatment.  I know I could never lease a car because of how hard I am on them.  Every time I've rented a car, I'm a nervous wreck and treat it with way more care than my own.  Now, when we were back in our old state in our owned home, we didn't run it into the ground, but I knew that there were repairs we could put off if money was tight or we would rather spend on something else.  In my current rental home, I am super careful with everything and we are probably annoying the landlord by letting him know ASAP when things go wrong.  I would never dream of disrespecting his home just because I don't own it.

 

I'm starting to believe the renter stereotype is more based in classism.  Owners=perceived more $$$, so better, nicer property, always takes care of things properly.  Renters=perceived to be poorer, so therefore lower class, not able to keep up their property, don't take care of things, etc.  

 

:iagree:  I've never taken poorer care of my home just because we rent it.  Our non-HOA neighborhood is mostly owner-occupied, and there are quite a few really rundown houses with yards full of junk. Owning vs. renting doesn't determine how well a person takes care of stuff, ime.

 

[EmseB]

In our last two HOAs, it has been against your deed restrictions to rent your home. 

 

In our last HOA, one of the builders (custom builders purchased lots and then built a spec home to sell) did rent one home. There was fury. And it did not work out well. Renter was aware of all the deed restrictions. We were relocating, so I'm not sure how that all worked out. Neither am I sure what the HOA can do about that. 

 

But, in general, I would agree that people who own things take better care of them than those who are just leasing/renting. Hey, I'm harder on rental cars than I am my own car. Nothing rides like rental!

 

That is just crazy to me.  I'm sorry, but it is. That has got to be a seriously elitist community. Especially since the crash of '08, I think more and more people are renting because the idea of getting a huge loan is just not seen as wise or as normal as it once was. It's not just people that can't afford to buy, but people who simply don't want to carry the financial risk of another crash or going underwater. Although knowing this is a thing for some HOAs, it makes sense to me why some neighborhoods I liked when we were house hunting never had any rentals. I seriously had no idea.

 

And, honestly, I am more careful with the homes that I'm renting than I am with my own house. I feel like it isn't mine so I need to take better care of it because I have to give it back at some point. Maybe we aren't the norm, but I really feel more conscious about my kids doing stuff that's hard on cabinets or messes up carpets or walls than I would be in my own house.

 

Kind of like if I'm watching someone else's kids I'm more hyper-vigilant about them getting hurt than I would be with my own kids.

[TranquilMind]

If you live where there is an HOA, do you automatically assume that renters are not going to take care of the property?  Would too many renters cause you to move?  

 

Yesterday, my neighbor told me that the reason why many houses are going up for sale is because of renters moving in.  He made it crystal clear that so many renters are potentially bringing down the home values.  The neighborhood is quiet, and overall the houses are nicely maintained, seemingly keeping up with what's standard for the area.  Well, we just moved in and we are renters, so the neighbor's comment was hard to not take personally.  We owned our home in our previous state for 15 years, so we understand how to take care of a home, and we take care of this one just as we took care of our old house.  But yes, that stung, even though the neighbor said over and over, "I don't necessarily mean you, but..."

 

I cannot help but think that we will not be here long now, knowing that our presence is likely only tolerated and we are not welcome simply because we do not own this home.  After a stressful move, let's just say that moving again so soon wasn't really in the plans.  It's so funny because where we came from, other homeowners were the ones who didn't take care of their homes due to financial hardships or having excessive family members living in small spaces, and renters didn't factor in to the equation at all.

 

It is true that when the percentage of rental units rises, the property value tends to drop (except in crazy places like San Fran and NYC, where no one can even afford the rent, much less a mortgage). 

When I was a landlord, I only bought homes in homeowner areas, not known rental areas.  I was able to sell them for retail price, not wholesale. 

 

You are a homeowner type temporarily renting.  Homeowner types (even if they have not owned yet, but have that mentality) take very good care of the property as if it is their own. As a landlord, you seek out these homeowner types, who just happen to be renting for logical reasons.

 

This was nothing personal, and he is not just tolerating you.  He is referring to a set of behaviors that lower property values, not you in particular.  (Was not there and his tone may have been different, but on its face, this is what I see). 

 

 

[TranquilMind]

The rental homes in my neighborhood look horrible and are not being maintained, but the home maintenance on rental property is the the responsibility of the owner.  Thanks to our wonderful blooming economy, homes aren't selling and owners want to move on so they lease their properties.  My family doesn't sneer when we see renters move in, but we have an overwhelming feeling of trepidation until we see yards picked up and the family dog not roaming.     

If they are single family homes, maintenance like grass cutting, restraining dogs, not piling up trash, etc is 100% the responsibility of the tenant.

Only the unit structure is the responsibility of the landlord.  If the roof shingles are falling off, or the gutters, or the electricity is not safe, that is the landlord's responsibility.    I personally always had the yards maintained once a years, and all the bushes and overgrowth cut, only because I didn't want it to become a jungle.  Many tenants will not care for a yard, the way I expect.  But not all. Some were amazing gardeners. 

[ChocolateReignRemix]

The neighbor specifically mentioned the HOA being concerned about the amount of renters and their desire to keep the number under a certain percentage.  Also, I have heard about this being an issue where there is an HOA, but never really heard this type of concern when I lived in a regular old neighborhood.  There was general concern about the amount of apartment building being built versus single family homes because of school crowding and lack of infrastructure, but not about renters of single family homes.

 

If the % of rentals in a neighborhood goes over a certain number, then it can have an impact on whether buyers can be eligible for certain programs through the FHA.  HOA's will often work to restrict the number of rental units in a neighborhood to keep this from occurring as this can lead to lower home values as it makes the pool of potential buyers smaller.

Edited December 27, 2016 by ChocolateReignRemix

[ChocolateReignRemix]

If they are single family homes, maintenance like grass cutting, restraining dogs, not piling up trash, etc is 100% the responsibility of the tenant.

Only the unit structure is the responsibility of the landlord.  If the roof shingles are falling off, or the gutters, or the electricity is not safe, that is the landlord's responsibility.    I personally always had the yards maintained once a years, and all the bushes and overgrowth cut, only because I didn't want it to become a jungle.  Many tenants will not care for a yard, the way I expect.  But not all. Some were amazing gardeners. 

 

Actually it depends on what is stated in the lease.

[TranquilMind]

I am disappointed that nearly every house sold on our street in the past two years has had a To Rent sign put beside the Sold sign. The investors are driving prices up all over the city and it is becoming increasingly difficult for first home buyers.

 

This is true, and we absolutely do not need investors owning all reasonably priced property. 

 

[Lady Florida.]

^{While I don't agree that it's right, rented houses can indeed bring down property values. Much of that is the stigma of the "bad renter" that isn't actually borne out by statistics. Also, discrimination (racial mostly) comes in to play.} 

 

^{Here, what a renter is responsible for is a matter of the lease agreement. Most of the time, renters are responsible only for mowing and basic yard upkeep but more can be involved. I once rented a home with two other women, and our lease said we were responsible for repairs under $75 (this was the 80s, so some repairs could cost as little as that). It was frustrating because we usually had to get an estimate first, then if it went over we had to contact the owner. This extended the time for the problem to get fixed (unless it was an emergency such as a plumbing back-up).}

 

^{The house catty-corner across the street from me has always had renters since we moved here in 2000. Only the most recent renters were the stereotype horror story, and they're finally out. However, last week there were NINE police cars here dealing with a domestic issue between the mother, adult daughter, and daughter's boyfriend. The owner lives out of town, and he seemed very embarrassed at all that's been happening for the past year. He tends to believe people and believe in second (or more) chances. He told the neighbors next door to that house that he's going to screen tenants more carefully and he's going to hire a property manager. Really though, there have been more than half a dozen renters in that house since we moved here 16+ years ago and only the past year or so has been a problem. I expect the next renters will be as nice as all the previous ones.} 

Edited December 27, 2016 by Lady Florida.